A Salvaged Story: Action, Drama and… a 1971 Mustang

Once upon a time there was a car – it was a classic 1971 Ford Mustang, and it was smooth, fast, stylish, and carried its owner with pride. One unfortunate day the Mustang met with a terrible accident and could not sustain the resulting injuries. It received a salvage title, and its owner had to let it go because he could not afford to restore it. The car’s days were doomed to be dark and its future undecided, that is until auction day…

After the auction, the car had a new owner. Mr. McGuire told us how he stumbled on this undiscovered beauty. “I work at a bank in Portland, so investing comes naturally to me. I already owned a 2014 7 Series BMW, but I always wanted a classic Mustang ever since my teen years when the Mustang starred in the James Bond movies, Diamonds are Forever1 and Gone in 60 Seconds. ”

In fact, during the grand finale of Diamond’s Are Forever, 007 races the Match 1 Mustang through a narrow Las Vegas alley while balancing on two side wheels. Not only does he escape the authorities with this daring movie, he miraculously exits the alley balancing on the opposite two wheels(!), creating one of the most famous movie editing errors in Hollywood history. In addition to that, the movie featured no less than 6 Mustangs to complete all the action packed chase scenes.

Gone in 60 Seconds, on the other hand, featured only two Mustangs: Eleanor One and Eleanor Two. The filmmaker H.B. “Toby” Halicki customized Eleanor One for the stunts and car chases, and Eleanor Two for external beauty shots. Sadly, Eleanor One met a fateful ending in the movie’s dramatic chase scene where the car was totaled, whereas Eleanor Two lived on. However, to this day, “Eleanor” is the only Ford Mustang in history to have received a star title credit in a movie. 2

With the Ford Mustang being such a big movie star in the 1970s, it makes sense that Mr. McGuire would want to customize his very own later in life.

He continues, “I researched a bit on the internet, but I couldn’t find a restored version of the car that I liked. I came across some auction sites and ultimately found the perfect car at Autobidmaster.com. It was in pretty bad shape, but I knew with a little work, it could become the car I wanted. A classic 1971 Ford Mustang for only $2,900. My only problem at that time was that I didn’t understand the bidding process. Online auctions were foreign to me, however; I followed the “How to Buy” guidelines, placed a bid and won!”

After the auction, Mr. McGuire worked with our auto experts on restoring the salvaged Mustang back to much of it’s original 1971 state, including the Boss 429 engine with 370 horsepower. For the car’s exterior, we found a set of original triple lens tail lights and flush mounted door handles that made that year significant for the Mustang. For the interior, high-back bucket seats for a sweet ride. Add in a new wide chrome strip and some black paint and voila’ – Mr. McGuire had a 1971 Mustang designed custom just for him. The once abandoned Mustang was another’s dream car — smooth, fast, and stylish once again!

Conclusion

The moral of the story? A salvage vehicle is not useless, it just needs a new owner. Check our inventory today to find your perfect, one of a kind, diamond in the rough. We’ll help you from purchase to restoration.